Storage battery



T. A. WILLARD.

STORAGE BATTERY. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. :6, 191a.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

T. A. WILLARD.

STORAGE BATTERY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, I918.

. 1 425 924 PatentedAug.l5,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. F" .3. .4 I :7 v

and State of Ohio,

Um'rsn' PATENT OFFICE.

' w en.

EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO. Y Tomes BATTERY.

To all whom, it may concern a citizen'of the United States, 7 East Cleveland, in the'county of Cuyahoga new and useful Im clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain new and 1 useful improvements in storage batteries,

free of terminal posts and in fact, of all obstructions, exception of vent plugs. 1

This is attained by extending the terminals of a cell through the lateral walls instead of the cover, and the invention is preferably carried out with a multi-compartment vessel or jar enerally formed ofrubber, by embedding t the cross connectors or terminals in the lateral walls,'the two end terminals projecting outwardly through different sides of the vessel, and the cross connectors extending from cell to cell either throu h two opposite lateral walls around the d? tions, or directly through the partitions.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional view substantially along the line 1-1.of Fig. 2, looking in the diconnectors, and,

rection indicated by the arrows; Fi 2 is a horizontal sectional view substantial ly along the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modification in the shape of the terminals and cross connectors; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the i S p ln catio nof Letters Patent. Application filed septemterilti, 1918. Serial i spect-ive view of one ofthe Be 1t known that I, THEODORE A, residing at have invented. acertain.

rovement in Stora e Batteries, of which t'e following is a 1;,

compartments, with the possibleth1s instance provided only viding partiand showing also portions of Patented Aug. 15, 1922. No. 254,248.

removed from the battery. In the drawings, and referring although in this instance the walls are some- ..What thicker than is customary, and may have embedded therein strengthening devices'of materials such as rubber covered cloth. In this instance, the-jar has three although, it may have a greater or less number. I

Each compartment has .a cover 11, sealed Jim place by a sealing compound 12. and in with a vent plug 13, since in accordance with the covers are free ofv all terminal posts and Y cross connectors. e end terminals and the In eachcompartment, and supported on the usual upstanding. ribs 14 are the posiive andnegative there may be any number, and which may be connected or leadcustomary manner. he end terminals 18 extend laterally outward from the two end cells into the two opposite walls in which a substantial portion of the terminals are embedded, and then they extend for a distance through the other two opposite walls, through the latter, so that flexible conductors may be attached thereto. In this case the extreme ends of the terminals 18 are provided with thumb nuts 19, although any other suitable form of binding post, or type of connector may be employed.

The cross connectors which are shown at 20, are'in this case their ends being attached to the positive and negative elements of adjoining cells and their -'middle portions being embedded in and for a distance extending lengthwise through the two opposite walls of the vessel around the partitions between adjoining cells, but at no point extendin through the outer surface of said walls. he terminals 18 and cross connectors 20 which are preferably formed of lead or lead antimony,-w1ll, of course, be embedded in the walls of the vessel during its process of manufacture, while the rubber is in a plastic 'unvulcanized state, and the connections will subsequently cross connectors and then out substantially U-shaped,

1 and 2, 10 represents a multi-commy invention v plates 15'and 16, of which urned to straps 17, in the I can be readily accomplished.

During the process of vulcanization the rubber will be vulcanized to the conductors 18 and 20, and to prevent creepage of battery solution along the conductors, the portions of the conductors which are embedded 'in the rubber are corrugated or threaded. By extending the embedded conductors for a distance lengthwise through the walls instead of more or less directly or transversely, liberal or ample portions of the conductors are wholly embedded in the rubber so that should the vulcanization be imperfect at any point, the possibility of leakage or creepage of battery solution along these conductors ispractically negligible.

The principle of my invention may be utilized with embedded conductors differently formed and differently arranged than in the construction shown in Fi s. 1 and 2. For example, in Figs. 3 to 6 I ave shown a different form and a somewhat different arrangement of the conductors. In these views, the jar 10 is similar to that first described. The end or terminal connectors designated 21 are in the form of fiat straps, each having a portion 21 embedded in one end wall of the jar at a. distance from the top of the latter, also a portion 21 at right angles to the portion-21 and embedded in one side wall of the jar, and a third portion 21 at right angles to the portion 21 and extending upwardly from the latter, this portion having its lower part embedded in the same side wall, and its top part rotruding. from the wall above the acid line at the flange or shoulder on which the associated jar cover 11 rests. Normally, or when the arts are embedded in the jar, the last mentioned parts of the end connectors extend upwardly above the jar, as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 6, and after the battery elements are inserted in the jar, these parts of the end connectors are bent downwardly and lead-burned to the "straps to which the battery plates are secured, as shown at 21 in Figs. 5 and 6. In this instance, the free ends of the end terminals are extended into slots of the straps, or 7 between wings of the straps and leadburned thereto.

In the outerends of these end connectors, namely, in the part 21 of each connector I prefer to embed or mold a bar 22 of brass or other good conducting material into which connecting screws such as shown at 23 may be threaded. As shown in Fig. 6, the bar 22 has bosses which receive h of the jar 26 these flanges inaaeae screws. The bosses on the outerside may extend outwardly flush or substantially flush with the outer surfaces of the jar.

The cross connectors which are shown at 24: are originally, or .-before they are connected to the battery elements, U-shaped, each having a middle portion which is wholly embedded in one of the side walls to extend around or onof the jar so as opposite sides of one of the dividing partitions, and each has upstanding end portions which emerge from the side wallon opposite sides of the partition, above the normal acid line of the cell and at the internal shoulders or ledges upon which the cell covers rest. After the battery elements are in place, the upstanding free ends of the cross connectors are bent inwardly and connected to the straps or plates as explained in connection with the end or terminal conductors.

Wit-h this construction, since the terminal and cross connectors emerge from the inner sides of the side walls of the jar, slightly above the bottom of the covers, the ends of the covers are provided with notched or elevated portions shown at 11 in Fig. 3, adapted to fit down snugly over the adjacent portions of these conductors.

This construction has been found in practice, to be very effective, and it permits the connections to be made between the conductors and the battery elements without difiiculty.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown a. construction wherein the terminal conductors and cross connectors extend more directly through the walls'of the jar. In this instance the terminal conductors shown at 25, extend from the battery elements straight out through the end walls of the jar, and the cross connectors which are shown at'26, extend directly through the partitions of the jar. Since with this construction the lengths of the conductors 25 and 26 actually embedded and vulcanized in the walls are considerably less than with the constructions illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, I prefer to provide some means to increase the creepage surface to avoid or minimize possibility of leakage, and in this case, this is accomplished by .providing between the ends of the terminal connectors 25, outstanding flanges 25 and between the endsof the cross connectors similar outstanding flanges being embedded and vulcanized in the end walls of the jar and the partitions respectively. These flanges 25 and 26a may be quite thin, and are preferably corrugated to increase'their efiectiveness.

-With the improvements above described, that is, by having the connectors embedded in the lateral walls, without bringing the cross connectors to the outside of the bat-- tery at all, and by bringing the end conmade in usually provided tery is much reduced, and the covers can be.

nectors through the lateral walls independthe end connectors and dross connectors can be attached to the elements of the battery,

for, since there are no terminal posts and no connectors to be brought'through the cover slight irregularities or inaccuracies in the relative locations of the parts to be connected have no effect whatsoever in the leadburning operations b which the connections are. made, nor 0 they to any extent alter the eflectiveness of the connections or of the battery. The parts cantherefore be great quantities and rapidly assembled Without loss of time should there be slight inaccuracies of fit whioh heretofore were often. troublesome.

Furthermore, the liability of breakage or short circuiting of the various conductors in the covers of the batremoved from the cells without disturbing any of the connections.

n the claims, Walls is intended to include the side and end walls and dividing partitions of the jar, or all walls except the bottomand top walls or covers.

Other ways of oarrying out the principle of my invention may occur to one skilled in the art, and I do not, therefore, desire to be confined to the precise details or arrange- .ments shown, all changes or modifications which do not but aim in my claims to cover involve a departure from the spirit and scope of. my invention in its broadest aspects.

aving described my invention, I claim: 1. A storage battery comprising a vessel having a cover andcontaining the electrolyte and battery elements and directly enclosing the same and conductors extending from'the elements through the lateral walls of the vessel at a distance from and beneath thecover. 2. A storage battery container comprising the expression lateral a vesselhaving a cover and adapted to contain the electrolyte and positive and nega,

tive elements and having positive and negative' conductors embedded in the lateral walls thereof, and projecting therethrough' at points distant from and beneath the cover.-

3. A storage battery composed of a unitary multi-compartment vessel for anumber of cells, each compartment having positive and negative plates, and terminal and'cross conductors Which extend. from cell to cell embedded in the lateral walls thereof.

4. A storage battery container comprising,

a single or unitary vessel with anumbefof compartments for diiferent cells, each having a cover, the terminals of the battery bemg brought to the exterior of the vessel, and connections being made from cell to cell independently'of the covers. I

5.-A storagebattery comprising a vessel with :lividingpartitions forming compartfl-i. number of cells, positive and merits fora negative plates in each cell, cross connectors having their ends in different compartments and their middle eral Walls of the vessel, an'dthe terminals of the end cellshaving portions embedded in the lateral walls and their ends projecting throu h two of the lateral walls.

6. 5 storage battery container comprising a vessel adapted to contain positive and negative plates and,having terminal members each embedded in and extending fora distance through two lateral walls of the vessel..

7.. A storage battery container comprising a unitary vessel with partitions forming several compartments for different cells, and,

cross connectorsembedded in lateral walls of the vessel and extending around the partitions. I

8. A unitary storage battery container havin a number of separate compartments for different cells,; and having cross oonnectors embedded iii'its walls beneath the top thereof and extending from cell to cell.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

THEODORE A. WILLARD.

portions embedded in lat- 

